If you thought the HampsterDance phenomenon had played
itself out, brace yourself  because Hampton the Hamster and his animated
friends are about to be released as toys, albums and even an animated TV show
for kids.

HampsterDance,
a Web site created two years ago by Canadian art student Deidre LaCarte, took
on cult status when millions of people became captivated by the bouncy hamsters
dancing to an accelerated 20-second music clip from Roger Miller's Whistle-Stop
(from the 1973 Robin Hood soundtrack).

Though the Web site is no longer the sensation it once
was, the new owners of the property say it still gets millions of visits a month;
they're convinced that Hampton and his buddies will become stars with the 12-and-under
set.

To wit: The HampsterDance Song is the most popular
novelty song ever on Radio Disney and has been on the top-30 chart since October,
says spokeswoman Jennie Glennon.

"There's still a devout following for Hampton and the hamsters,"
says Bill Porfido, president of Abatis International of Garfield, N.J., which
bought LaCarte's company and is licensing the rights for HampsterDance. He plans
plush toys, key chains, video games and new music.

Originally based on LaCarte's pet hamster, Hampton, HampsterDance
now stars four hamsters, all characters on the Web site  and soon on TV.

Children's entertainment company Nelvana (Franklin the
Turtle, Rolie Polie Olie) is planning to produce 13 half-hour episodes
in Flash animation, so they can be aired both on TV and the Net, says Toper
Taylor, president of Nelvana. Though networks haven't been signed yet, shows
will be done by January, and Taylor is confident he has a hit on his hands.
"I think this property is the next Chipmunks," he says.

Men and women  we're still different

What's the difference between men and women online? "Men
go to porn sites and women go to shopping sites," says Sean Kaldor, vice president
of eCommerce for online researcher Nielsen//NetRatings.

The bigger picture is that men and women largely go to
the same types of mainstream sites, and spend the same amount of time there.
But differences arise in the type of sites that are dominated by one gender
or the other, Kaldor says. The top five with audiences of at least 70% women
are shopping sites  including jcpenny.com, babycenter.com and qvc.com.
Meanwhile, the top five among men, using the same criteria, are all adult sites
that offer free photos.

But that doesn't mean that men are all porn freaks, Kaldor
says. In May, 32% of men who surfed from home went to an adult content site,
he says; 13% of women did the same. "Women have minimal interest in online adult
content," he says.

Net users more tolerant, study says

A study
released Wednesday by researchers from the University of Maryland and Princeton
University suggests that Net users are more socially and politically tolerant,
optimistic and literate than counterparts who are not online.

Net users were more likely to be supportive of non-traditional
roles for women, civil rights, rights for homosexuals and child-rearing that
emphasizes independence rather than obedience, but they didn't differ markedly
from non-Net users on issues such as interracial marriage, teen sex and liberal
divorce laws. Researchers interviewed 2,300 adults in their homes.